This picture shows how often and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal March. The biggest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue implies the strength, with the darkest shade of blue showing the strongest winds. It is based on 2716 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2007, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Bananas Point, located 32 km away (20 miles). There are too few recording stations world wide to use actual wind data. No doubt some coastal places have very localized wind effects that would not be predicted by NWW3.

According to the model, the prevailing wind at Bananas Point blows from the ESE. If the rose graph shows a fairly circular pattern, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Bananas Point. Converseley, dominant spokes represent favoured directions, and the more deep blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical March, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (light blue) about 13% of the time (4 days each March) and blows offshore 38% of the time (1 days in an average March). Over an average March winds exceeding >40kph (25mph) are not expected, but 1 have winds on the range 30-40 (19-25) at Bananas Point

IMPORTANT: Beta version feature! Swell heights are open water values from NWW3. There is no attempt to model near-shore effects. Coastal wave heights will generally be less, especially if the break does not have unobstructed exposure to the open ocean.